Movies trivia | 100 facts about famous film directors (part 3)

A film director is someone who controls a film’s artistic and dramatic aspects by visualizing how the script will be actually on screen.

So, the film director is very important about a movie, and this is why one of the most important categories in the Oscar Awards is the directors. So, let’s find out more about some of the most famous!

1. Michael Bay’s full name is Michael Benjamin Bay
2. He was born on February 17, 1965
3. He is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing big-budget, high-concept action films characterized by fast cutting, stylistic visuals and extensive use of special effects, including frequent depictions of explosions
4. The films he has produced and directed, which include Armageddon (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001) and the Transformers film series (2007–present)
5. His films have grossed over US$7.8 billion worldwide
6. Making him one of the most commercially successful directors in history
7. He is co-founder of commercial production house The Institute, a.k.a. The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness
8. He co-owns Platinum Dunes
9. It is a production house which has remade horror movies including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), The Amityville Horror (2005), The Hitcher (2007), Friday the 13th (2009) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
10. Despite his commercial success at the box office, Bay’s work is generally held in low esteem by film critics
11. While The Rock (1996) and Transformers (2007) received moderately positive reviews
12. His other films, including the four Transformers sequels, have been received negatively by critics
13. Michael Bay was born in Los Angeles
14. He was raised by his adoptive parents
15. Harriet, a bookstore owner/child psychiatrist
16. And Jim, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).[8] Bay was raised Jewish
17. His grandfather was from Russia
18. His cousin, Susan Bay, is the widow of Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy
19. Leonard Nimoy eventually cast as the voice actor for Sentinel Prime in Transformers: Dark of the Moon
20. He attended the exclusive Crossroads School, in Santa Monica, California
21. Bay often traces his interest in action films back to an incident during his childhood
22. As a boy, he attached some firecrackers to a toy train and filmed the ensuing fiery disaster with his mother’s 8 millimeter camera
23. The fire department was called and he was grounded
24. Bay founded production house Platinum Dunes with fellow producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form in 2001
25. Bay and Wyndcrest Holdings, a Florida-based investment firm, acquired the digital effects company Digital Domain from James Cameron and Stan Winston in 2006, infusing the struggling business with a $50 million investment
26. Digital Domain considered an initial public offering in 2009 but ultimately withdrew the offer, because of the lack of interest
27. The company was sold to Galloping Horse in 2012
28. After leaving Propaganda Films, Bay and producer Scott Gardenhour, also formerly at Propaganda, formed The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness (now known as The Institute), to produce commercials and other projects
29. Through The Institute, Bay has directed and produced spots for Victoria’s Secret, Lexus, Budweiser, Reebok, Mercedes-Benz, and Nike
30. One of his Victoria Secret ads was for the 2009 “A Thousand Fantasies” holiday campaign
31. Bay co-founded 451 Media Group with Doug Nunes (who serves as CEO), and with John and Anthony Gentile, who previously marketed brands such as Micronauts, Visionaries, Sky Dancers and the Power Glove
32. In 2015, the company announced an interactive publishing division to offer “augmented reality” content from printed graphic novels with digital video
33. The graphic novels employ Touchcode technology from T+ink (previously used in the Power Glove), in which ink used in the printing process unlocks access to exclusive content that is housed on the Machinima Network, which is transferred to users’ touch-screen-enabled mobile devices when the printed books are touched to those devices
34. The company’s premiere slate of graphic novels was unveiled at the October 2015 New York Comic-Con
35. The creators involved included Scott Rosenberg, Skip Woods, George Pelecanos, Mark Mallouk, Clay McLeod Chapman and Peter and Paul Williams
36. In June 2016, Bay joined The Rogue Initiative, a production studio and technology company, as a strategic advisor and stakeholder
37. The studio merges Hollywood production with interactive talent to generate story-driven content for games, mobile, virtual reality, mixed reality, television and feature film
38. As part of the partnership, Bay will develop and direct a multiplatform action-adventure game and cinematic VR experiences, based on an original IP conceived by him
39. Bay lives in Miami with his three English mastiffs, named for characters in his films
40. As a boy, he donated his Bar Mitzvah money to an animal shelter and often includes his dogs in his films
41. Bonecrusher appeared as Mikaela’s dog “Bones” in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
42. Mason, his first English mastiff, was named for John Patrick Mason, played by Sean Connery in The Rock
43. Mason appeared as Marcus’ dog in Bad Boys II and as Miles’ dog in Transformers
44. He died during production of the latter film in March 2007
45. Bay is not married and has no children
46. He previously dated sportscaster Lisa Dergan
47. In 2016 Bay owned a $50 million Gulfstream G550 jet, as well as a Bentley, a Range Rover, an Escalade, a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and two Camaros from the Transformers franchise
48. Safdie brothers is an American directing duo that have gained rave reviews with their last two films.
49. Joshua Safdie was born on April 3, 1984
50. Benjamin Safdie was born on February 24, 1986
51. They are American independent filmmakers based in New York City
52. They frequently collaborate
53. The Safdie brothers were raised in New York
54. They are the children of Amy and Alberto Safdie
55. They spent their childhood living between their father in Queens and their mother and stepfather in Manhattan
56. They began making films at a young age
57. Inspired by their film-enthusiast father, Alberto
58. They graduated from Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School in Manhattan
59. At Boston University, they co-founded the creative collective Red Bucket Films with Alex Kalman, Sam Lisenco, Brett Jutkiewicz, and Zachary Treitz
60. Josh and Benny Safdie graduated from Boston University College of Communication in 2007 and 2008, respectively
61. The turmoil of their youth, as children of divorced parents, became an inspiration for later work
62. They are distantly related to famed architect Moshe Safdie
63. The Safdie brothers are Jewish
64. Their father, who is of Sephardic Jewish (Syrian Jewish) ancestry, was raised in France and Italy
65. In 2007, Josh Safdie was hired by Andy Spade and Anthony Sperduti to create a short film featuring Kate Spade Handbags
66. He devised a concise story about the adventures of a kleptomaniac woman
67. Eleonore Hendricks, who co-wrote the screenplay, portrayed the lead role
68. The project eventually turned into a feature film
69. The film, titled The Pleasure of Being Robbed, had its world premiere at the 2008 South by Southwest
70. It also screened in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival
71. Along with a short film The Acquaintances of a Lonely John directed by Benny Safdie
72. Their second feature film, Daddy Longlegs, had its world premiere under the title Go Get Some Rosemary in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival
73. Starring Ronald Bronstein
74. It was inspired by the filmmakers’ younger years living with their father, Albert
75. Bronstein won the Breakthrough Actor Award at the Gotham Independent Film Awards 2010
76. The film won the John Cassavetes Award at the 26th Independent Spirit Awards
77. Their first full-length documentary film, Lenny Cooke, follows the life of Lenny Cooke, a once phenom high school basketball player, from adolescence to manhood
78. The film premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
79. In 2014, the Safdie Brothers produced Heaven Knows What under their Elara Pictures banner
80. The film centers around the real-life stories written in a book titled Mad Love in New York City by lead actress Arielle Holmes
81. The film had its world premiere at the 71st Venice International Film Festival
82. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and the Tokyo International Film Festival
83. The Safdies directed the 2017 crime film Good Time
84. Starring Robert Pattinson and Ben Safdie as siblings
85. The film was selected to compete for Palme d’Or in the main competition section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival
86. The Safdies directed Uncut Gems
87. Starring Adam Sandler
88. And Martin Scorsese serving as an executive producer
89. The film was inspired by their father’s time working in the Manhattan Diamond District
90. The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Telluride Film Festival
91. In December 2017, The Hollywood Reporter announced that The Safdies will helm 48 Hrs.
92. It will be a remake of the movie of the same name
93. With the script being written by Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, and Jerrod Carmichael
94. Lynn Shelton was best known for writing, directing, and producing such films as Humpday and Your Sister’s Sister
95. She was born on August 27, 1965
96. She died on May 15, 2020
97. Shelton was born in Ohio, and grew up in Seattle
98. She described herself as having been audacious as a young girl, but having lost confidence in her creativity in adolescence
99. After high school, Shelton attended Oberlin College in Ohio and then the University of Washington School of Drama
100. She then moved to New York and followed the Master’s of Fine Arts program in photography and related media at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan

Movies trivia | 100 facts about famous film directors (part 2)